Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:112
But he who does of righteous deeds while he is a believer - he will neither fear injustice nor deprivation.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا ("And whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer, he fears neither injustice nor diminution") (20:112)
Allah the Exalted — holy are His Names — says: whoever does righteous deeds — and that is, as has been said, the fulfillment of the obligations that Allah has imposed upon His servants — وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ — He says: while he believes in Allah and in the fact that He rewards those who obey Him and punishes those who disobey Him for their disobedience — فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا — He says: he fears from Allah no injustice with which He would burden him, by imposing upon him the sins of another and punishing him for them; وَلا هَضْمًا — He says: he does not fear that He will diminish his good deeds and curtail his reward for them.
In a sense similar to what we have said, the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said this:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ — Allah accepts of the deed only what was performed in faith (īmān).
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, his statement وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ — he said: it is held that these are the obligatory acts.
Mention of those who said what we said concerning the meaning of His statement فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا :
Abū Kurayb and Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār related to us — they both said: Ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simmāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا — he said: haḍm: to be robbed.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me on the authority of ʿAlī from Ibn ʿAbbās: فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا — he said: the son of Adam does not fear on the Day of Resurrection that he will be wronged by having his sins increased, nor that he will be wronged by having his good deeds diminished.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا — He says: I am your overpowerer today, I seize you by My strength and My might, and I am able to overpower you and diminish you — but between Me and you is only justice; and that is on the Day of Resurrection.
It was related to me, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj: he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا — as for haḍm: it is not that a man overpowers another man by his strength. Allah says on the Day of Resurrection: I do not seize you by My strength and My might, but justice is between Me and you, and there is no injustice over you.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, his statement (haḍman): he said: the curtailing of something of the right due to his deed.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī related to me, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Misʿar: he said: I heard Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit say concerning His statement وَلا هَضْمًا : he said: al-haḍm is curtailment.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا : he said: the injustice that his sins are increased, and his good deeds are not diminished.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا : he said: he does not fear that he will be wronged such that he is not rewarded for his deed, nor does he fear that something of his right will be curtailed such that his deed is not fully recompensed.
Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Sallām ibn Miskīn related to us, on the authority of Maymūn ibn Siyyāh, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted فَلا يَخَافُ ظُلْمًا وَلا هَضْمًا : he said: Allah diminishes nothing of his good deeds, and lays upon him no sin of a transgressor.
The origin of al-haḍm is diminution; one says: so-and-so diminished my right (haḍamanī). From this comes: a woman who is haḍīm — that is to say: with a drawn-in belly. And from this comes their expression: the food was digested (haḍama al-ṭaʿām): when it has disappeared. And: I have reduced for you something of your right (haḍamtu laka min ḥaqqika): that is to say: I have brought it down for you.
